


Come Back When You Can

by Dodge1989



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Love, Melendaire Monday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23748988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dodge1989/pseuds/Dodge1989
Summary: AU 3x19; What if when Claire found Neil on the ruins of a brewery building, and then aftershock happenes...
Relationships: Claire Browne & Neil Melendez, Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	Come Back When You Can

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I brought my writer's gifts again. I concluded on the small number of your reviews and kudos to my last story that you have enough drama in life, then I decided to write something more inspiring.  
> Dr Lim and Dr Andrews ships Melendaire hard. English not my first or second language.. I warned you.
> 
> It's true that when you are in love or busy with your favorite fandom, songs begin to make sense to you.
> 
> OST Come back when you can by Barcelona

**I've been led on  
To think that we've been  
Trying for too long**

Darkness surrounded him. Neil couldn't open his eyes, his body was weakened and disoriented. It was hard for him to breathe, the air was dry and burned his chest and lungs. His legs were cottony, and his lower abdomen ached like after an overload in the gym. Throbbing pain in his head didn't help remember what the hell happened to him. It seemed a few moments ago he was in the company of Glassman, Lea and Noreen on a guided tour of the brewery. When everything spun around and he was on the ground under a beam and a pile of construction debris. _Earthquake._ A sudden awareness of what had happened came to his mind when he was able to focus his hearing on the insistent ringtone of his phone. Neil's phone wasn't far from him, but his first attempt to reach him was unsuccessful; the hot pain in his battered body stopped him. He took a series of short breaths, gaining strength. When Neil was able finally reached his phone, he answered the call. It was Audrey. He awkwardly climbed out from under the ceiling beam that had buried him earlier. First of all, he reassured Audrey about his well-being and checked Noreen and Glassman. Returning to the main hall, still on the phone, Neil counted the number of injured and wounded, there were four dozen in the building. Melendez asked Audrey to send a medical team as quickly as possible.

Even when Melendez and Noreen were slowly moving along the narrow corridor of the ruined building, he began to cough. _Probably breathed in too much dust._ He immediately cast aside his thoughts and focused his attention on the victims. He was a doctor, people needed him, adrenaline began to pulsate in his veins. Melendez even seemed to feel better. _Let's get to work._ He started checking up and sorting people by injury severity with Dr Glassman. Those who received minor bruises and scratches, after a quick inspection, Aaron led out of the building into a safe open space, where the threat of a new collapse wouldn't threaten their lives. This continued until Melendez heard Noreen calling him. She had previously gone in search of her wife and his old patient Martha. Neil immediately hurried in the direction of her voice where he found Marta crushed under a large beam, her whole body was buried under a wooden mass only her head was free. She suffered from severe back pain. Martha could've anything from multiple fractures and damage to internal organs to internal bleeding as well as a damaged spinal cord. He had to find a solution in the field until it was impossible to drive the scans away until paramedics with equipment arrived, for a start he needed to free her from the beam. Melendez called a rescue team that arrived in time, it was the easiest part of all this.

**Every time we drift  
Were forcing what is wrong  
At last that voice is gone**

Melendez's brain picked up new combinations of possible solutions, and his body moved mechanically, this continued until he heard a worried female voice. Her voice. _Claire._ Neil unknowingly touched a cut on his forehead. _Maybe I still hit my head hard when I fell._ But turning to her voice, his doubts were dispelled. She really was here on the EMT team, dressed in a dark blue uniform and orange helmet, with medical equipment to the advantage. Relief, fear and anxiety were reflected in her face in turn. When her eyes found him, Claire rushed to him.

"Melendez, are you ok?" Anxious and worried Claire approached him when Neil began to give her Martha's anamnesis.

"Hey, where are you hit? Are you dizzy? Are you ok?" Claire didn’t calm down. She laid her palm on his forearm and carefully turned Neil to her. She checked him with her attentive eyes for more serious injuries. Claire's exorbitant care towards him seemed sweet to Neil.

**Please take your time  
But you've got to know that  
I am taking sight**

"I'm fine. The beam fell get me by my side and knock me dizzy," Melendez tried to reassure her but Claire was so focused on examining him. She put the lights in his eyes and checked his pupils for the primary signs of concussion.

"I'm fine," Neil repeated again with a smile, trying to calm her down. _She's adorable in her role as Badass Doctor._ Claire nodded, accepting his answer, but not stopping worrying about him for a second.

"Let me see," Claire, without a drop of embarrassment, asked Neil to pick up his dress shirt to check his abdomen where he had a bruise.

"I think I’ll give up going to the gym for a while,” Melendez tried to laugh it off, but his attempt passed her ears when Claire’s hands continued to palpate his abdomen. Not like this, he imagined her touching himself. _Get a grip, man!_

**Oh, you look good  
With your patient face and wandering eye  
Don't hold this war inside**

"How much that hurt?" She couldn't calm her nerves, Claire's voice like her eyes didn't hide her emotions, although her face remained professionally impenetrable. 

"Not a little than it should," Melendez assured her without taking his eyes off Claire's provident eyes. _And what's your verdict, doctor?_ Mischievous lights appeared in Neil's eyes.

"You're gonna use a full evaluation," Claire finally made her decision and looked at him so intently that he didn't dare to continue this argument.

"I’ll go with Martha back by EMT to check up," Neil agreed, realizing that he couldn't win this battle. _She so stubborn when she had an idea in mind._

"Ok," Claire whispered with her lips, standing so close to his face that Neil could feel the light scent of cherry blossoms in her hair. _Now is not the time and place for such thoughts, get yourself together, Neil._ And he again switched himself to work; duty was above all.

It was then that the appearing Shaun stopped him and rescue team from further actions to free Martha, suggesting the possibility of her complete paralysis due to the pressure of an object on her spinal cord. She couldn't be moved. _Damn it!_

**Come back when you can  
Let go, you'll understand**

"Get a portable x-ray," Melendez demanded looking at Claire and immediately regretted it.

"Ok," Claire automatically answered, looking down and hurried to the exit when a new push followed, as if from nowhere. Aftershock.

**You've done nothing at all, to make me love you less  
So come back when you can**

Melendez turned quickly on his heel in the direction where Claire was headed, struggling to stay on his feet, he tried to stop her. He was too late.

"Clare! Watch out!" Neil shouted in fright when he saw how the overhanging beam that hadn't yet been fully strengthened by rescuers flew down to the surprised woman. But it was too late. The wooden mass hit Claire by striking her tangentially on the right side of her head. She yelped and fell unconscious on the floor.

Neil's heart almost stopped in that moment. _Please just not her._ It's like his worst nightmare came alive. He rushed to Claire, didn’t give a damn about his own safety. He knew that the lifeguards who were next to Martha at that moment would take care of her with Noreen. His priority was Claire.

**You left your home  
You're so far from  
Everything you know**

Melendez dropped to his knees in front of motionless Claire, brushing off the dust that sprinkled her face. His trembling fingers pressed to her neck, feeling for her pulse. _Thanks God!_ He managed to find it. She was breathing but she was unconscious.  
Melendez took off her helmet, carefully felt her head and neck. The bones of the cranial vault, like her neck, were intact. Neil thought that the helmet that was on her at that moment saved her life, but the fear for her life remained great. He must wake her up.

**Your big dream is  
Crashing down and out your door  
Wake up and dream once more**

"Claire, it's Neil. Can you hear me?" Neil asked, but there was no answer. She remained still. He felt Claire's pockets and found a small flashlight with which a couple of minutes ago she checked him, lifted her eyelids and shined her eyes.  
Claire's pupils reacted to light, but her right pupil reacted less. Anisocoria was a bad signal. Melendez gritted his teeth and continued the necessary tests.

"Claire, come on. Please open your eyes for me," Neil pleaded his voice was unusually shaken. Claire didn’t respond. _Shit._ She needed to get to the hospital urgently.

"I need oxygen and a stretcher now!" gambled Melendez towards the paramedics who entered the large hall.

***

Fortunately, at the time of the aftershock in the brewery building, only two of the heavy patients remained, Martha and teenager boy whom Lim and Park looked after. Shaun was able to find Lea when the rift opened a passage to her. Lea miraculously didn't suffer when she fell into the basement. She was locked there with Vera, the woman through whose leg the metal pin went through. Shaun and two lifeguards were able to cut the pin off Vera's leg and deliver them both to the field hospital, which was temporarily deployed right on the street. So two young paramedics who returned to the building to help doctors hurried to Melendez.

Neil himself put on a cervical collar to fixate Claire's neck. After the paramedics loaded and fastened Claire to a stretcher, Melendez ordered one of them to call Dr Lim on the walkie-talkie and ask her to urgently come to the EMT parking lot. Neil found Claire’s palm and took it in his, twisting their fingers, holding it while they moved toward EMT.

Lim quickly appeared to EMT, catching Melendez already in the car with Claire lying motionless on a gurney, while one paramedic was finishing working on her. Neil sat next to Claire and held her hand as if his life depended on it.

"Neil, how did this happen?" Startled Audrey asked when she saw Melendez for the first time since the disaster, noting to herself his not the best view. She wasn't blind. Lim had long noticed a connection between her colleagues, but she didn't know how close they became and how much their hearts were affected... Until this moment. If everything ended badly, she wasn't sure that Neil could recover from such a loss.

"Claire got hit in the head as a result of the aftershock. She hasn’t regained consciousness since then," blurted Melendez without taking his eyes off Claire, who was now connected to the monitors. "I have a little time, I need you to take Martha, you can’t move her, you have to operate on the spot. Shaun knows; get him to help. We didn't have time to do an X-ray so do it... you must remove the object that presses on her spinal cord then stabilize her neck. The rest will wait until the hospital. I can only entrust Martha to you."

"I get it, Neil, I’ve been dealing with traumatology for several years. The team from San Jose Hospital is 5 minutes, they’re bringing blood and plasma for us, I’ll have help with a Park's patient, so I can take Martha," Lim assured him.

"Thank you, Audrey. I just ... I need to go with her," Melendez looked up from Claire's face to Lim. Everything was clear without words. The chief surgeon didn't ask unnecessary questions, only nodded in response to the broken man who was trying to hold on. She quickly shut EMT's doors and clapped on it roof when she cried out. "Go!"  


***

Neil to check on her vitals again and ordered paramedics to deliver them immediately to St. Bonaventure hospital. Her blood pressure started to grow. Neil's heart sunk further.

**Come back when you can  
Let go, you'll understand**

Time seemed to stop. She was so beautiful even lying still. Everything wasn't supposed to be that way. How long he deceived himself that they were just friends and colleagues. _It always starts like this. But you'll be friends until you aren't._ Neil himself didn't know when they became so close. He experienced sexual attraction to her long before they became platonic friends. _Bullshit, there has never been anything platonic about his feelings for Claire._ Neil was too flirty with her from the first year of her residency and he was flattered by how she responded to his attention. How he adored her special smile, which Claire gave only to him. Even when he was in a relationship with Jess and Audrey, his thoughts always returned to her. She challenge, risked and supported him. He admiration how she did her job. Neil was proud to work with her side by side; she was a brilliant surgeon with a golden heart. He should have had a chance to tell her about things he was hiding for so long. Things he should have told her. _Be honest with her._ He really made a mistake with Claire. _Stop holding out for the right time._ Why didn’t he listen to his own advice? Why wasn’t he open with her? He was too scared. Neil took another sharp breathe in. He wanted for Claire woke up to wrap her in his arms and tell her all of this and more. He wanted to know what was going on in her beautiful mind, that trouble her, take care of her. Neil was selfish in his desires but he was ready for anything to keep her safe. And he screwed up. He felt so miserable. Neil's free hand rubbed slightly at his nose trying to hold back the tears coming to his eyes. He needed to be strong and concentrated for Claire. He was lost in his own mind for to long.

**You've done nothing at all to make me love you less  
So come back when you can**

"How much before our arrival?" asked Neil, feeling his patience leave him. His body, which had lost adrenaline, became heavy, the pain from his bruise in the lower abdomen began to grow.

"Two minutes, sir,” the young paramedic reported to Melendez.

***

"28 years old female, closed-head injury, GCS 9, increasing ICP..." When the ambulance doors opened, Melendez escorted Claire's gurney to ER, listing her vital signs as a resident arrived in time for them. "First of all, CT and MRI are needed."

“I’ll check if radiology has become free...” began a second-year resident with whom Melendez hadn't previously crossed paths.

"I need MRI now!" Melendez screamed at him, unable to bear the stress.

"What's going on here?" Marcus immediately hurried to Melendez after hearing a panic in his colleague's voice. Andrews looked worriedly at the bad shape of Melendez, then turned his gaze to the gurney, the view of which Neil obscured from him with his body.

"It's Claire," was Neil's short answer, which made Andrew's face change for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses and again became a professional.

"Someone call ahead the OR and call Dr Glassman!" Dr Andrews arranged, getting to work with the nurses, drove Claire straight to the MRI. "I'll lead from here! Neil, you should have a check up."

"Damn it, I'm fine! I'll take care of her!" Growled Melendez, resting his hands on the hospital couch on which Claire lay now, continuing to follow along.

"Like hell you are!" Andrews retorted angrily, annoyed by this whole situation when he came close to Melendez. "Melendez, you cannot think correctly if you thought that I'll let you work in this state. You barely stand on your feet! And certainly I'll not let you into OR with _her_ on the table. I’ll take care of you myself when I pass on Dr Browne to Dr Glassman."

"I said I'm ok," Neil repeated stubbornly. This was the last thing he said before losing consciousness, caught in time by Marcus that stood next to him. The last thing Neil saw before the fall was Claire's bloodless face.

***

**If all you wanted was me, I'd give you nothing less  
So come back when you can**

The next thing Neil remembered when he woke up in the ward, his abdoment was painful, but not like before. The sun was shining outside the window, but how was it possible, it was only the beginning of the evening when they arrived... How much time did he lose? Neil looked around trying to find Claire. _She's not here, idiot._ His first impulse was to go to her. What he tried to do by tearing off the electrodes from his body that sent a signal to the nursing post. Andrews ran into his ward ready to act.

"Where is Claire?" Neil called out for Marcus, waves of unease emanated from him.

"She's fine, Neil, I assure you. Glassman operated on her removing the hematoma. Everything is good, she is still sleeping. Audrey is waiting for her awakening," Marcus tried to calm his colleague. Melendez will bring himself to a heart attack if he doesn’t calm down right now. "Neil, you bleed from the SMA, with Lim I had to do a duodenojejunostomy on you. So stop acting like nothing happened. This conversation between us might not have happened at all."

"I need to see her myself," Melendez sighed deeply, trying to get out of bed. He will still have time to think about himself later. "Let me go!"

"Sorry, man," with these words Marcus injected Neil with a sedative and laid him on the bed.

***

Claire no longer controlled her body, in the distance she heard the familiar sound of his voice, begging to answer and open her eyes for his sake. Claire wanted to obey that voice, but she only deeper fell into darkness. She didn't feel anything until a bright light persistently pierced her eyes. She barely opened her eyes, everything was blurry and not clear, but at the same time well-known. It seems she was in one of the chambers of St. Bonaventure hospital. But how did she get here? There was a blurry image in front of her. Claire had to blink several times to concentrate her vision on the person, it was Dr Lim.

"Where am I? What happened?" Claire’s mouth was dry and she could hardly find her voice.

"Claire, you're in the hospital, you were in the incident," Lim answered while checking her vitals. Claire was a little disappointed to see Dr Lim and not Melendez in her room and that she was talking to her now and not him. She understood that most likely Neil was busy with emergency surgery and simply couldn't come straight away. But she was sure that he would visit her when he had time. Claire thought hard about Neil so she could hardly concentrate on Lim's voice. "Aftershock happened and you got a severe blow to your head when you were in a destroyed building. Dr Melendez examined you on the spot and took you to the hospital. According to the MRI, it was a 100 ml intracranial hematoma in the right fronto-parietal-temporal region. Dr Glassman used a minimally invasive method by performed removal of ICH from milling holes. The surgery went without complications and your vitals are normal. I expect your full recovery in no time. But you gave us all a pretty scare today. I'm glad to see you in the world of the living, Claire."

"Ok, I understood Dr Lim, thanks for explaining what happened to me. I'm very grateful to all of you," Claire thanked the senior surgeon. But she couldn't understand why Lim was telling her about this, and not Dr Glassman that had her surgery. _Something was wrong._

"Please call me Audrey. I've something else to tell you," Lim began uncertainly. Audrey didn't know who she was preparing more for this conversation, herself or Claire. "It's about Neil."

"What happened?" Claire asked, startled. She hadn't yet found peace with her own news and was already ready for a new blow. Memories of Neil's quick check up returned to her; she could only think of the worst. "How is he?"

"Dr Melendez accompanied you in EMT when he handed you to the doctors he pass out. Dr Andrews was the one who discovered that he was bleeding internally; he didn't waste time. Glassman was already working on you at that time. I didn't have enough hands in ER, so after Martha's surgery I came with her. Marcus has already started a diagnostic laparoscopic to find the source of bleeding. Bleeding was from the SMA. Marcus stopped the bleeding so together we had to do duodenojejunostomy on him. Melendez is stable. He's now resting in his ward," Lim explained, moving closer to Claire, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "When Neil woke up a few hours ago, he began to panic and rush towards you, Claire. Marcus had to drugged him for his own good. You are really important to him. Please accept my friendly advice, don't make my mistakes and don't wait for the right time. Tell him. Now rest, Claire, that's an order."

After these words, Lim once again squeezed Claire’s hand and left the ward of the young surgeon, leaving her alone with her thoughts and feelings. Awareness of what happened hit her harder than that wooden beam. She wept bitterly. Claire’s first desire was to find him, but weakened after anesthesia and tears, she soon fell back into sleep without dreams.

***

When Claire woke up the next time after that brief conversation with Lim, she felt someone's presence in her ward. Opening her tired and tearful eyes, Claire slowly looked around her room until she met Neil Melendez's gaze. A man who has occupied all her mind since her first awakenings in a hospital ward a few hours ago. Actually much longer than that.

"What are you doing here? You can't get up!" Claire shouted at him instead of a greeting. She scaredly looking at Neil in his wheelchair at her bedside.

"I know, but I’m not on my feet, Dr Browne, I had to borrow this shameful transport and bribe the nurses so that they would turn a blind eye on me. The main thing I got to you," grinned Neil. He was here, but his face was several tones lighter than usual, with the shadow of stubble at his jawline and with dark circles under his eyes. Claire was pained to look at him like that.

"Idiot! What if your seams go apart? The risk of infection and rebleeding increases with no bed rest! You should be on antibiotics and monitors now!" Claire was one step away from hysteria. _You're an incorrigible stubborn man!_

"I know, Claire, I'm also a doctor," Neil tried to calm the worried woman. "So Lim told you everything."

"Of course she do! Imagine my surprise when I woke up in a hospital ward with a hole in my head and immediately found out that it turned out that you had an emergency duodenojejunostomy, because your SMA burst and you were bleeding all this time. You'll giive up going to the gym for a while, damn you!" Claire spoke loudly, which made her head feel unwell. "If this damn beam hadn’t fallen on me, you would have remained for Martha's surgery.. And then what? Would you fall dead right in front of my eyes? You stubborn fool!"

"Hey, everything worked for the better. But I would prefer that you don't get hurt at the same time. How are you feeling?" Neil tried to reassured her, seeing Claire winced in discomfort.

"Don't change the subject, Neil Melendez! Can you even imagine how it could all end ?! You wouldn’t be here!" Claire’s voice broke when evil tears finally burst from her eyes. "You wouldn’t be here..."

"Hey Claire, hush, please don’t cry, just not because of me," Neil pulled up close to her hospital bed. _Fuck, why are they so tall?_ He wanted to hug her, press her to his chest and drive away everything that upset her but he could only take it and squeeze her hand tightly. Which he did. "I'm here, still in one piece and I'm not going to get anywhere from you. Believe me, Claire."

"I believed you then in the ruined building when you said that you were fine. If something happened to you it would be my fault," Claire said quietly, looking directly into his eyes. _How he loved those eyes; green, kind, sad, loving eyes._ He could spend his whole life looking in them.

"If everything played not in my favor, it would only be my fault. It was me who decided to stay, not you. Claire, you should have been the last feel guilty about what could happen," muttered Neil captivated by her eyes. Claire seemed so small and defenseless lying in the hospital bed. She shouldn’t have been here at all if he hadn’t asked her to bring that damn X-ray...

"But I would be the first who would be affected," Claire’s words distracted Neil from his bad thoughts. Perhaps not her words themselves, but with what intonation and meaning she pronounced them, they were gentle with a touch of longing. _What did she mean?_ His breathe hitched and he swallowed nervously. "I have to tell you..."

"Claire.." Neil began, not knowing if he really wanted to hear the following words because they could complicate their already difficult working relationship. Over the past day, nothing has changed, he remained her superior, she was his best resident. One half of him wanted to stop her, because it was enough for him that she was now safe, but the other shouted at him to admit to her his feelings for her. He couldn't figure out what to say next, but Claire was ahead of him.

"I love you," Claire spoke slowly, slightly leaning forward to meet him, watching how Neil's face changes as it becomes softer and lighter. She wanted to be closer to him. "And I think that for a long time. I was just scared to tell you."

"Me too, Claire, I was also scared," Neil said, raising her palm to his lips kissing it with feeling. His heart swelling with adoration and tenderness, it was filled with love for this amazing woman. Everything else went into the background. "I love you too."

"I wouldn’t want to break this touching and personal moment, but Neil why aren’t you in your ward?" Dr Andrews stood at the door of Claire’s ward with a wide smile on his face, saying that he had long been aware of his colleagues' sympathy for each other. _Good for them._

"I told you before that I need to see Claire, so do not pretend that you are surprised," said Neil nodding towards Marcus. "I promise not to overload myself and return to my ward before your rounds if you give us more time."

“Who am I to prevent young love,” Marcus raised his hands to his defense and disappeared behind the door.

"Well, you and I need to talk about many things. I have been waiting too long for you to wake up, Claire, even longer I have been waiting for the right time for us... I'm still afraid that you'll soon be disappointed in me," admitted Neil focusing all his attention on Claire. He carefully began to rise from his wheelchair, leaning on her bed, not listening to the Claire's protests, Neil sat by her side, taking her tightly in his arms he pressed his lips to her forehead. "That's the thing, Dr Browne, I'm a lost man, when it comes to you. But now, let me just hold you and don't let go."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you don’t think that I like torturing Claire’s character like David Shore do. I just believe that if Claire’s life was in danger, Neil would do everything to save her. So ... I didn't go too far with medical terms in order to preserve the small size of the story and not confuse the readers. My next AU story wouldn't keep you waiting. I hope you enjoyed this short story, if so, leave your review or kudos. Bye!


End file.
